South Africa Tackles Apartheid Crimes in Groundbreaking Trial
By Yahaya Idris
South Africa has launched its first-ever criminal trial prosecuting apartheid-era crimes as crimes against humanity. With two former police officers charged with the 1982 assassination of three student activists from the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), killed in a rigged pumphouse explosion orchestrated by the apartheid Security Branch.
This trial is unprecedented globally, marking the first time individuals are held criminally accountable for apartheid crimes.
The court ruled apartheid is a crime against humanity under international law, with no statute of limitations for prosecution.
The judge emphasized apartheid’s systemic racial domination and associated atrocities such as imprisonment, torture, and assassinations, confirming that prosecuting these crimes remains lawful decades later.
Further more, South Africa has reopened the investigation into the 1967 death of Nobel laureate Albert Luthuli, a former ANC president, amid new evidence challenging the original accidental death ruling.
This signals a renewed commitment to addressing unresolved apartheid injustices.
These developments represent a pivotal shift from the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s focus on amnesty and reconciliation toward legal accountability and justice for victims.
The trial could pave the way for further prosecutions, reshaping South Africa’s approach to historical accountability and confronting systemic injustices from its apartheid past.
